Waypoint increases capital base by $300m

Waypoint Leasing, a leading helicopter leasing company, has raised a further $300 million in term loans to refinance existing assets previously funded under its revolving credit facility.

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BNP Paribas, MUFG Union Bank, N.A., RBC Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities acted as Lead Arrangers and were joined by asset financier Lombard, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Everbank Commercial Finance, Inc. and Capital One, National Association as Lenders. The facility also includes an accordion feature to expand the borrowing capacity further, up to $400 million.

This new term loan brings Waypoint’s total capital raised to $1.2 billion to date. This financing will further the company’s ability to acquire more helicopter assets to its fleet.

Alan Jenkins, CFO of Waypoint, said: “This term financing of a diversified pool of assets frees capacity under our revolving credit line to facilitate additional helicopter acquisitions.  We are very pleased that leading financial institutions acted as Arrangers and Lenders for this transaction and their support is a further validation of Waypoint’s strong, long-term financial profile.”

Oliver Althoff, MD of capital markets and treasury, added: “In an asset and capital intensive industry such as ours, Waypoint is consistently able to attract favourably structured and priced capital to fund our growing fleet. We are excited to continue to deepen and broaden our financing relationships.”

Waypoint Leasing is a global helicopter leasing company, headquartered in Limerick, Ireland, and with operations in Darien, Connecticut. The company has leased helicopter assets across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North and South America.

The company serves a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, emergency medical service, search and rescue, firefighting and governmental support.